Courtesy Rockefeller Institute

In the spirit of getting things done, especially given the current climate, lawmakers in Ohio are trying to fast-track a bill that would give residents of Ohio the right to stand their ground in the face of a life-threatening attack.

Cincinnati.com reports:

“Senate Bill 383 would eliminate the duty to retreat before using force in self-defense, defense of another person or defense of certain property. The change would expand the places someone could fire a gun from his home and vehicle to anywhere he has a legal right to be.

Prosecutors’ would need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the shooter did not act in self-defense to convict that person.”

This is a welcome development for more than one reason. Ohio is currently one of nearly two dozen states with a castle doctrine law, meaning you aren’t legally required to retreat from a threat in your own home – or vehicle – but can legally defend your life. But up until now, however, Ohio residents have been required to retreat from threats while they’re out and about.

The stand-your-ground bill hasn’t passed yet, of course, but odds are it will. Here’s what Ohio Democrats have to say about what will happen if it passes:

“House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes, D-Akron, said the bill was disrespectful to the people of Dayton, where a 24-year-old shooter killed nine people and injured 17 others in August 2019. They wanted ‘common sense’ gun safety legislation, she said.

‘It is deadly,’ Sykes said of the proposal. ‘It makes especially black and brown communities unsafe and feel unsafe.'”

“Sen. Cecil Thomas…contended that the change isn’t needed. Few, if any, Ohioans are being prosecuted for not fleeing before shooting in self-defense.”

Good to know. Did anyone ask Senator Thomas how many Ohioans have been assaulted, raped, maimed, or murdered while attempting to flee an attacker? Anyone?

Hopefully this bill gets through with some speed. The question then will be whether Ohio’s linquini-spined governor Mike DeWine will sign it into law.

Does your state have a stand your ground law or are you required to retreat in the face of a threat? Do you even know?

 

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52 COMMENTS

  2. not only that, in 2012 we passed an initiative that says crime victims can’t be sued for causing death or injury

    “Proposition 114 would amend the Arizona Constitution to provide that a crime victim is not liable for damages incurred by a person who was harmed while attempting, engaging in or fleeing from conduct that is classified as a felony offense.”

    passed with just shy of 80%

  3. Good to see Iowa shaded orange. Kind of a mixed bag here, but a pretty good state for carry shy of constitutional carry.

    • It will be on next years agenda at the state capital. The support for such legislation has grown. We have added 6 republican seats to the Legislature from 53-47 to 59-41. We hold the Iowa Senate 32-18 and still have a Republican Governor. Iowa is a prime example of votes not only mattering, but putting the right people in office. The 2nd Amendment has been a focus of many voters who have worked tirelessly to get the right people elected in Our state. Even with the major population centers being under Democrat control We managed to turn 7 seats in Liberal Polk county (Des Moines) Republican. We even gave President Trump the largest Republican victory in Iowa history. The people of Iowa are beginning to understand that Socialist Liberal values are not Iowa Values. Keep Your Powder Dry.

      • Good to hear. If Gov. Reynolds signs constitutional carry I might just vote for her after all in 22. As of right now I don’t plan on it though over her covid rules, even though she’s been better than 40 other govs. She needs to earn my vote back.

        • What rules? if you’re whining about a mask mandate that is something that’s up to the individual and is unenforceable against the masses. As far as closing businesses that should be up to the owners and people can choose how to protect themselves. Nothing is going to matter until Herd Immunity is reached. Even the CDC and WHO are beginning to talk about it as a positive outcome. Any vaccine even if as good as everyone claims won’t solve the problem. I’m in the immunodeficient category and I don’t need a politician to tell me to protect myself and make good decisions. Just don’t forget Gravity Rules and Mother Nature wins. Plan accordingly and live Free. Nothing else is guaranteed by anyone.

        • Not just the mask mandate, she also forbade you to have more than 15 people over for Thanksgiving. Doesn’t matter if it’s enforcible, what matters is who the f@#k she thinks she is. I was pretty much done when she mandated that I couldn’t take my cans back but still had to pay the deposit anyway. Short of constitutional carry, she ain’t getting my vote. Better to wait until 2026 than keep bad Republicans in office.

        • Governor,

          You have no idea how good you have it. I live in one of those few states whose Governor went full-tyrant and quite literally is responsible for countless deaths resulting from the executive order for a virtually complete shutdown of the entire state. Note that our Governor’s near complete shutdown included forbidding all dental and medical care except for extreme emergencies. For those who are unaware, countless people died from conditions and complications of conditions that were not “extreme emergencies”.

          Our governor even required “papers” — literally paper statements on company letterhead — to travel for work (proving that you were travelling to/from essential work tasks and only essential work tasks) or going to/from a grocery store. (And the list of essential work tasks was basically limited to emergency healthcare, critical infrastructure, and food and energy production.) The order also forbid travel to a second residence in rural/remote parts of our state.

          The really sad aspect of this: I do NOT live in the usual communist states of the West Coast, Illinois, Hawaii, nor the East Coast. Silly me for thinking that I would never have to contend with the communist policies of those states.

        • u_s, I did acknowledge that Gov. Reynolds was better than 40 other governors. Still, heads need to roll. The only decent governor IMHO has been SD’s Kristi Noem. The rest need to be fired.

          I will reconsider my position if Li’l Kim delivers constitutional carry, though.

    • And there’s this taken from a post from “Armendariz for El Paso” facebook page, posted at 8 or 9 this morning (who knows if she actually said this): Meanwhile in TEXAS…..
      State Representative Terry Meza (D-Irving) has introduced HB196.
      Now listen to what she has to say…
      “I’m not saying that stealing is okay,” Meza explained. “All I’m saying is that it doesn’t warrant a death penalty. Thieves only carry weapons for self-protection and to provide the householder an incentive to cooperate. They just want to get their loot and get away. When the resident tries to resist is when people get hurt. If only one side is armed fewer people will be killed.”
      Meza was quick to reassure that her bill “would not totally prevent homeowners from defending themselves.
      Under the new law the homeowner’s obligation is to flee the home at the first sign of intrusion. If fleeing is not possible he must cooperate with the intruder. But if violence breaks out it is the homeowner’s responsibility to make sure no one gets hurt. The best way to achieve this is to use the minimum non-lethal force possible because intruders will be able to sue for any injuries they receive at the hands of the homeowner.”
      “In most instances the thief needs the money more than the homeowner does,” Meza reasoned. “The homeowner’s insurance we reimburse his losses. On balance, the transfer of property is likely to lead to a more equitable distribution of wealth. If my bill can help make this transfer a peaceful one so much the better.”

      • It looks like she did say this: “ Thieves only carry weapons for self-protection and to provide the householder an incentive to cooperate. They just want to get their loot and get away. When the resident tries to resist is when people get hurt. If only one side is armed fewer people will be killed.” Check it out

      • If meza gets robbed ask her how it felt and what went through her mind as a stronger person just walked off with her stuff.

      • Seems to me she knows a great deal about thieves. She may know quite a number of thieves and, with a D after her name, may be a thief herself. I’d call that a conflict of interest.

      • “Thieves only carry weapons for self-protection and to provide the householder an incentive to cooperate.”

        She simply cannot be this stupid, can she? Can she? Bueller? Buellllerrr?

        BTW, it’s been my experience thieves try to hit a home when the owner isn’t there after casing the place. A thief who comes when they know you are there, or are likely to be there, probably has far more sinister intentions than simple larceny (which is more than bad enough, of course). Not to mention the possibility of a so-called “only wants loot” thief being surprised and deciding that “no witnesses” is the safest bet.

        So yeah, Rep. Meza can go perform an anatomically impossible act on herself.

      • To trust the lives of innocents to the conscience and good judgement of a violent felon in the commission of a violent felony is an act of insanity.

    • I want to move to Texas so I can vote for people to vote this crap down. Washington state is a lost cause. Maybe something can yet be saved somewhere.

      Plus I’m getting tired of the cold. I can handle heat all day long, but cold is starting to get to me.

    • Yep, you beat me to it. Rep. Meza from Dallas wants to get rid of our Castle Doctrine. Her reasoning? Because she wants to make it safer for armed burglars/crooks breaking into a domicile. In my years on this earth, I’ve never heard of something so nuts! I believe Gov. Abbott said Meza’s bill will be DOA.

    • Yeah… hey we ain’t Michigan. Got a Rino in the Capitol, he was staying on the right side of the fence until the virus. We do however here in Cincy have the Bengals. LOlolololololOL.

      For what it’s worth, in 2018 he signed a Law, Vets CCW is now free of charge. We have always been an Open carry state though.

  8. Absolutely! Dewine is off the reservation…he needs to go. We had Kasich, now Dewine, We in Ohio just can’t catch a break.

    • We need to find a strong contender for the primaries. I say start with the sponsors of the impeachment and work from there. Even if Trump can not stop the steal what ever candidates he endorses will be hard to stop in a fair election. Dewine will not be on his list of good guys.

    • Dewiner needs to go. Like the idea of starting with the impeachers. Im going to check them out and see if anyone stands out. So tired of these rino cuck bastards the Republicans have been nominating. I know we have better choices in this state.

  10. This kind of crap only springs freon the mind of low IQ ghetto rats…..
    When animals run your government, these are the laws that are passed…..
    America allowed the cancer to grow and now the ghettos (and governments) are overflowing with filth and there’s only one solution ……js

  11. ““House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes, D-Akron, said the bill was disrespectful to the people of Dayton, where a 24-year-old shooter killed nine people and injured 17 others in August 2019. They wanted ‘common sense’ gun safety legislation, she said.”
    – Did that 24 year old shooter who killed 9 people get off by claiming self-defense? I’m not going to google it because I’m sure he didn’t and this is just a transparent BS argument that has absolutely nothing to do with this law.

    “Sen. Cecil Thomas…contended that the change isn’t needed. Few, if any, Ohioans are being prosecuted for not fleeing before shooting in self-defense.”

    1) Then why would it matter?
    2) “Few” is okay? What?

    • “2) “Few” is okay? What?”

      It’s all a big misunderstanding.

      The person being stolen from doesn’t understand that what is happening is simple redistribution of wealth. Surly they would have no problem with solving making everyone equally poor… (sarc)

  13. Duty to retreat. Immoral idea. If you are not the aggressor why should you retreat? That gives evil a pass and confirms that their behavior is acceptable.

    I am pretty much a pacifist, I don’t want to fight. However, I reserve the moral right to react to any violence against my person or to others whom I am responsible with quick and overwhelming violence to stop the violence. I will use any tool I have available and it will not be pretty. I have nothing worth anyone’s life to take, if they assess it is worth their life, that is their miscalculation.

    I am at the age where I have more years behind me than I do in front of me. Immoral laws that state I must be a victim are nothing I will obey. I believe the majority feel the same as I do. Everyone must have a well thought out response they have rehearsed mentally to either run and hide or to fight back. Your life, your choice.

    • Former – I’m likely at least as old as you and pretty beat up even though I never jumped out of perfectly good functioning aircraft (yes I know that’s an oxymoron).
      Here is my thought that I posted on one of the Texas forums regarding the silly idea from mz meza: do the crooks not have a duty to obey the law? If they did, there would be no reason for castle doctrine, much less a ‘duty to retreat’ since we would not be victims. Yes I know that isn’t the least bit realistic.

  16. Great news Kat ! Thanks for telling me my home state has finally decided to adopt sanity in self-defense.

  17. Fill out the who are you form. Here’s your gun. No sorry we have no bananas today. We can put you on a wish list though, like wish I could buy some fuckn ammo.
    Strangle Hold ,,,Baby

  18. Way to go OHIO. Should be able to retreat faster in a automobile. When will OHIO wake-up ?
    Attacker has a ballbat, I’ve got a gun. I’ve got to run away and get a ballbat !!!!! DUMB ASS !!!!!!!!!

  20. Note that some of the other states shown as not having a duty to retreat statute in place are covered by common law provision of not having a duty to retreat. Cali for example has no duty to retreat in common law. Also, I am not aware of any state that says you have to retreat if it would not be safe for you to do so or would increase the risk to yourself. Then again, some prosecutors might argue that it wasn’t ‘reasonable’ for you not to retreat, thus attacking one of the other requirements for successfully arguing self defense.

  21. “prosecutors might argue that it wasn’t ‘reasonable’ for you not to retreat”

    “Shifting of Onus”. Basically, it’s a mechanism that requires you to prove your innocence rather than the government having to prove your guilt.

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